

It is harvested while it is alive and then dried for commercial use. Sphagnum moss is the living plant that grows on top of the bog. Is sphagnum moss the same as peat moss? Well, kind of. However, peat moss or sphagnum peat moss is dead and decayed when harvested. It may contain organic matter from other plants, animals, or insects. Since these are natural bogs, the decayed matter known as peat moss is usually not purely sphagnum moss. Many of the sphagnum bogs that are harvested for commercially sold sphagnum peat moss have built up in the bottom of bogs for thousands of years. So, what is sphagnum peat moss? It is actually the dead, decayed plant matter of sphagnum moss that settles at the bottom of the sphagnum bogs.

These varieties grow in bogs, which are sometimes drained to make harvesting the sphagnum peat moss (sometimes called peat moss) easier. Commercial sphagnum peat moss is also harvested in New Zealand and Peru. There are over 350 species of sphagnum moss, but most of the varieties harvested for sphagnum moss products grow in wetlands of the northern hemisphere – mainly Canada, Michigan, Ireland, and Scotland. The products known as sphagnum moss and sphagnum peat moss come from the same plant, which is also known as sphagnum moss. Are Sphagnum Moss and Peat Moss the Same? Continue reading to learn the difference between sphagnum moss and sphagnum peat. This major price and quantity difference may have you wondering if sphagnum moss and peat moss are the same. However, when perusing a craft store, you may see small bags labeled sphagnum moss selling for just as much, or more, than you paid for a compressed bag of sphagnum peat moss. This popular soil amendment is lightweight and inexpensive. In spring, when it’s time to plant the garden, bales or bags of sphagnum peat moss fly off the shelves of garden centers.

In one form or another, most plant owners have dealt with sphagnum moss at some point.
